When full-page advertisements congratulating scholarship winners appeared in the nation’s major newspapers on Wednesday, opposition parties were quick to criticize the provincial government, calling it “propaganda” and “a blatantly wasteful expenditure that’s akin to rubbing salt in the wound.”
The ads—estimated to cost $150,000 in total—saluted the achievements of students who had won the province’s Aim for the Top scholarship, but Toronto-Danforth MPP Marilyn Churley (NDP) pointed out that Education Minister Dianne Cunningham’s name is “the largest one on the page.”
Later, the minister reacted to the protests with scorn, telling the Globe and Mail,”So the students are having their protest, they believe in something.
“Many of them have sent me their request, and their request, basically, for many of them, is no tuition. But that’s not on in Canada.”
Marie Bountrogianni, Liberal Critic for Training, Colleges and Universities, said it was no coincidence that the ads appeared on the same day as the National Day of Action. “This is the kind of garbage they pay for instead of education and health care,” said Bountrogianni.
Tanya Cholakov, an official with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, could not confirm the amount spent and said there was “no particular reason” the ads ran on February 6.
